Amy Seiwert’s Imagery Summer Series at ODC Performance Gallery

Last year it was three women choreographers; this year, Sketch 3, Amy’s sub-title was Expectations, selecting Val Caniparoli and Max Brew for two of the three dances seen at ODC, July 25-28. The trio provided an exhilarating evening with eight splendid dancers who enjoyed generous emphasis from all three choreographers.  The audience, filled with long-time dance professionals, added to the excitement.

The respective titles were Brew’s Awkward Beauty, Canaparoli’s Triptych and Seiwet’s own The Devil Ties My Tongue with dancers Brandon Freeman, Rachel Furst, James Gilmer, Sarah Griffin, Weston Krukow, Annali Rose, Katherine Wells, and Ben Needham Wood.

I took away one or two images from each work crystallizing for me choreographic intent, lucid, minted.

Val Caniparoli’s Triptych was inspired by Lalage Snow’s images of British veteran soldiers of Afghanistan, “We Are The Not Dead” before, during and after with music by John Tavener and Alexander Balanescu.  Christine Darch clothed the eight dancers in khaki fatigues close enough to military field garb to reinforce the imagery.  Caniparoli approximated march formations as the recruits submitted to discipline and then very carefully depicted combat situations, ending in the ensemble moving forward, faces expressionless, to face the audience.

Classical ballet movements linked with the awkwardness of combat necessity worked powerfully on the imagination.  I remember James Gilmer’s reaching with a grand ronde de jamb with his arms outstretched as his working leg reached second, as if to say “Why?” and one moment where Brandon Freeman caught an anguished Katherine Wells as she lept forward; for a moment the two were  majestic, a momentary sculptural triumph.  Triptych is one of Canaparoli’s strongest works since his perennially popular Lambarena.

Max Brew’s Awkward Beauty, music by Dan Wool, was memorable for me because of its tenuousness; in particular there was a downstage right pas de deux between two men, the tentative connection and motions towards and away – “Do I really want to get involved with this guy?”, a clear statement regarding male friendship and/or sexual involvement.

Seiwert’s contribution, “The Devil Ties My Tongue” with Olafur Arnalds’s score, utilized the pas de deux in several places, the lifts exciting, circling around the supporting body, once or twice a woman.  I remember Sarah Griffin aloft at an angle, arms and legs like a strong calligraphic exclamation, Chinese calligraphic style.  At the end Brandon Freeman supported a wavering, quivering Katherine Wells struggling with some inner message, but unable to support its import standing.

The dancing was superb, the choreographing intriguing and hope abundant that 2014 will provide Sketch Four.

Oakland Ballet’s Spring Season at Laney College

Graham Lustig, Artistic Director of Oakland Ballet, opened May 20’s spring performance, “Forwards!”, acknowledging the presence of founding director Ronn Guidi and eleven former dancers with the 40 year old East Bay company with former ballet master Howard Sayette in from Colorado.

The spring season, four performances at Laney College’s charming theater, featured two Lustig ballets, one a premiere and one work each for choreographers Amy Siewart and Mills College dance chair Sonya del Waide. “…”  Lustig’s contributions included a premiere “Words Within Words,” to Philip Glass’  Etudes No.5 and Escape plus spoken words from poet Robert
Duncan danced by Brandon Freeman and Sharon Wehner of Colorado Ballet, plus Vista as a finale. David Elliott provided the lighting design, Jamielyn Duggan, Soncheree Giles and Graham Lustig minimal costume ideas.

Seiwart’s Response to Change to Madison Bate’s The Life of Bees, opened the program, eight dancers dressed in trunks and tunics of grey accented by bronze, accenting the paleness of bare skin. The classicism including two centers of choreography, fairly intricate partnering, some fine grand jetes by Ikolo Griffin and  need for more rehearsal.

Lustig’s premiere of words within words followed, sensitively performed by Freeman and Wehner, the spoken text frequently swallowed by the space.  Overall, Lustig spaced  declamation  to the dancers’ lung capacity. The two met their challenges, from the legato to the semi-acrobatic with shuddery passages where both dancers were attuned to each other’s vulnerabilities.

Sonya Del Waide’s “…” concerned six inebriated dancers, the elegant chandelier originally constructed for Carvajal’s Crystal Slipper and Mozart played with a glass harmonica. Del Waide’s witty invention seemed inexhaustible, from one-pointe shoed dancers to intricate pile up male antics. Perhaps due to musical length, the cleverness was overlong.

For the finale, Lustig’s Vista had its Oakland premiere. With eleven dancers in beach-like garb and danced to popular music performed by The Lounge Lizards, it seemed quite frenetic, strenuous and unfortunately repetitive in spots.  Men lacking torso muscle definition should not be nude to the waist, extra peculiar for dancers who purportedly are amongst the fittest in strenuous activity.

If Lustig aimed to demonstrate Oakland dancers are technically strong and raring to go plus willing to undertake new challenges, he made his point admirably.  How much Oakland dance  lovers will respond to more choreography as demonstrated remains to be seen.  With the Ballets
Russes productions partially destroyed through careless warehousing, invention is necessary. But something between the Forward Program and Nutcracker would be welcome to see.